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Epoch Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
Mandelson Calls for UK–US Alliance Centred on AI to Counter China Threat
British Ambassador to the United States Lord Peter Mandelson has called for greater UK–U.S. cooperation in technology to counter the 'clear shared threat' from China. Mandelson highlighted artificial intelligence specifically as the 'spearpoint' of this potential British–American tech collaboration, in a speech he The ambassador told delegates that the recently-agreed The former Labour MP said: 'We face a clear, shared threat. There is nothing in this world I fear more than China winning the race for technological dominance in the coming decades. 'China represents a far more dynamic and formidable strategic rival than the Soviet Union ever was: economically sophisticated, highly innovative, and strategically patient.' AI 'Spearpoint' of Collaboration Mandelson said that the United States and the UK are the only two Western nations with trillion-pound technology ecosystems, which when combined would 'drive the scientific breakthroughs that will define this century, and AI should be the spearpoint of that collaboration.' 'Rather than stifling these transformative technologies through excessive regulation, our two governments must unleash their immense potential for human benefit and Western advantage,' Mandleson said. Related Stories 5/8/2025 5/22/2025 The ambassador is not alone in recommending greater international collaboration on tech to counter China. In May, University of Oxford lecturer Keegan McBride and senior fellow at the R Street Institute Adam Thierer Mandleson's comments come as London has sought to reset relations with Beijing. In a shift from their Conservative predecessors who distanced themselves from the regime, the new Labour government resumed diplomatic relations with China. It has Labour's Vision for AI Since Labour came to power last year, it has said that AI will be at the forefront of its plans to grow the British economy and improve public services, as well as position the UK as a global leader in AI innovation. In its AI Opportunities Action Plan, the government U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, on Jan. 21, January, U.S. President Donald Trump Recently, Trump said that his tariff policies are aimed at bolstering the American tech industry, as well as defence, European Defence Trump's emphasis on ramping up defence production comes as European NATO allies work to strengthen their own military capabilities in response to the Russia–Ukraine war, growing global tensions, and increasingly assertive hostile states. Mandelson addressed the need for Europe to increase its own defence spending and to rely less on the United States, which is a point that Trump has been making since his 2016 presidential campaign. The ambassador said during his speech at the Atlantic Council that Europe's 'peace dividend' has turned into a urgent bill for decades of defence underinvestment, with the return of war on European soil being a 'brutal wake-up call.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to crew in the control room as he tours HMS Iron Duke in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024.'We have lived in a fantasy created by the U.S. security guarantee, complacent that a friendly heavyweight across the water would be always there when the going gets tough,' he said. Mandelson—who has not always seen eye-to-eye with Trump, having called him a Last year, the government
Business Wire
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
R Street Institute Releases First State-by-State Electricity Competition Scorecard
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the R Street Institute, a pro-market, limited-government think tank released a new scorecard assessing and grading each state on how competitive their electricity markets are by examining factors such as retail choice in electricity and the degree to which individual states are fostering competition in their electricity markets. The authors suggest specific strategies each state can implement to further improve its retail electricity competition. The State-By-State Scorecard on Electricity Competition also compares the competitiveness of each state's retail electricity offerings and highlights policy solutions that have been successfully implemented at the state level to enhance competition. State Grades: Alabama: F Alaska: D Arizona: C- Arkansas: D+ California: C+ Colorado: C Connecticut: C+ Delaware: B District of Columbia: B+ Florida: D Georgia: D Hawaii: C- Idaho: D- Illinois: B+ Indiana: D Iowa: D Kansas: D+ Kentucky: D+ Louisiana: D+ Maine: B Maryland: C Massachusetts: B- Michigan: C Minnesota: D- Mississippi: D- Missouri: D Montana: C- Nevada: D+ New Hampshire: B- New Jersey: B- New Mexico: D New York: C+ North Carolina: C- North Dakota: D Ohio: B+ Oklahoma: D Oregon: C- Pennsylvania: B+ Rhode Island: B South Carolina: D+ South Dakota: D Tennessee: D Texas: A- Utah: D- Vermont: C- Virginia: C+ Washington: D West Virginia: D Wisconsin: D- Wyoming: D- Note: We have omitted Nebraska—which is served entirely by public power utilities—from this scorecard. We have, however, included the District of Columbia, which is served by an Investor Owned Utility. Statement from Kent Chandler, Resident Senior Fellow in Energy and Environment Policy, R Street Institute: 'Consumers demand choices and alternatives, and the provision of electricity shouldn't be an exception to that expectation. Advancing competition and choice in electricity, and giving consumers the tools and data that they need to make informed decisions is a moral and economic imperative. If America wants affordable electricity and to win the global advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence race, states across the country must grapple with traditional monopolies and red tape in this sector to ensure all customers benefit from well-implemented retail choice that meaningfully empowers them to make their own energy decisions, while ensuring remaining regulation keeps utilities in check.' To develop the scorecard, the authors identified a key set of factors that guided their research and recommendations, including: States' approaches to customer choice and competitive foundations; Role and treatment of rate-regulated monopolies; Alternatives within a traditionally regulated utility system; Wholesale competition and regional transmission organizations (RTOs); Price caps and limits on product differentiation; Smart meters and metering data; Customer education and access; Regulatory staffing and retail market oversight; State utility consumer advocates; and Complaint filing and resolution, among others. To read more about each state and the methodology behind the scorecard, click here. For more information about the R Street Institute and our mission and impact, visit About the Authors: is an associate fellow in energy and environmental policy at the R Street Institute. Chris focuses on policy and regulatory guidance on matters relating to distributed energy resources, grid modernization, performance-based ratemaking, and distribution system planning. Kent Chandler is a resident senior fellow in energy and environmental policy at the R Street Institute, leading the organization's positions, strategy, and engagement on electricity policy. Michael Giberson is a senior fellow in energy policy at the R Street Institute where he focuses on federal electric power and related energy policy issues. About the R Street Institute The R Street Institute (RSI) is a leading think tank focused on solving complex public policy challenges through free markets and limited, effective government. RSI consistently offers pragmatic, real solutions that foster American innovation, bolster competition, and safeguard individual liberty—all with the understanding that life in a democratic society sometimes requires compromises that don't necessarily represent first, best solutions. Founded in 2012, RSI is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in California, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. Learn more at and follow us on X at @RSI and on LinkedIn.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Lawmakers Want To Use 'Police Power' of the State To Halt Renewable Energy Projects
Texas generates the most renewable energy in the nation. Three Republican bills being advanced by the state legislature could halt Texas' green energy progress and give fossil fuels a leg up in the state's energy market. Senate Bill 388, which has passed the state Senate, would require at least 50 percent of power generation installed after January 1, 2026, to come from "dispatchable" energy sources, which include natural gas, nuclear power, and coal. This bill effectively subsidizes fossil fuel projects by requiring utility providers to purchase power generation credits from dispatchable energy sources. If passed, this bill could have a "big impact" on the state's power grid, Josiah Neeley, senior energy fellow at the free market R Street Institute, tells Reason. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the regulatory agency that manages 90 percent of the state's power market, expects its energy demand to jump from about 94 gigawatts (GW) today to 208 GW in 2030. Renewables are expected to satisfy a significant share of this demand. ERCOT says 346 GW worth of projects are waiting to connect to the grid, 96 percent of which are solar, wind, or battery storage. "If you're saying half of all new stuff has to be gas, then you end up cutting out a lot of new generations," says Neeley. Senate Bill 715 amends existing statutes to set strict reliability requirements that would favor fossil fuel sources. Under the bill, "solar generators would have to secure enough battery or gas power to match their output at night—a time when no one expects them to produce energy and when demand is typically at its lowest anyway," according to Doug Lewin, a Texas energy expert. A report from Aurora Energy Research estimates that this bill would add $5.2 billion to Texas power prices over the next decade; residents could pay an extra $200 per year in energy costs. The bill has passed out of committee and awaits a vote on the Senate floor. As these two bills incentivize power generation primarily from fossil sources, Senate Bill 819 would make it harder to permit renewable energy projects. The bill invokes the "police power of [the] state" to "increase electric generation" and "mitigate unreasonable impacts of renewable energy generation facilities on wildlife, water, and land" in Texas. The legislation would require new renewable energy projects that generate over 10 megawatts—enough to power about 10,000 homes—to obtain permits from state regulators before connecting to the power grid. While some cities have zoning requirements, Texas laws currently allow power generators to connect to the grid without a permit. The bill would also force renewable projects to pay an annual "environmental impact fee" to fund site cleanups of these projects, even though greenhouse gas-emitting energy projects in the state, including oil and natural gas, are not subject to similar dues. The bill claims to protect private property rights by preventing solar and wind energy projects from being placed within 100 feet or 3,000 feet, respectively, of any property line unless a developer gets a written waiver from every property owner within the area. Neeley says this bill violates private property rights. "These projects can only happen if the property owner agrees and works out a deal in order to do them," he said. Those who object to these renewable energy projects are usually people who live in another part of the state and don't like renewable energy sources, according to Neeley. Many landowners opposed the bill during a March Senate Business and Commerce Committee hearing. Renewable projects provide supplemental income to farmers and ranchers in many of the state's rural communities, especially as oil and gas reserves have dried up in some counties. A 2023 study from Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas, Austin, found that, over their lifetime, the state's existing utility-scale wind and solar projects will generate over $12.3 billion in revenue to Texas landowners. Two wind farms in Armstrong County, which has fewer than 200,000 residents, will funnel $100 million to local landowners and school districts. Despite landowner support for green energy projects and private sector backing, the legislature is doubling down on giving fossil fuel projects a leg up. In 2023, lawmakers enacted the Texas Energy Fund to provide $5 billion of low-interest loans to build new natural gas plants. Despite the incentive, "numerous projects have dropped out of the taxpayer-backed loan program," reports the Houston Chronicle. The legislature is considering amending the program to allow geothermal energy projects to apply for loan funding. Critics of renewable energy are right to point out that subsidies for solar and wind energy distort markets and are unnecessary and costly. Spain and Portugal's recent blackouts demonstrate the dangers of over-reliance on intermittent green power sources. However, by putting their thumb on the scale and picking energy winners, lawmakers are running the risk of increasing costs and hurting electricity reliability in Texas. Pablo Vegas, ERCOT's CEO, recently told lawmakers, "The market as structured today is very well suited to support the growth trajectories that we're seeing increase in the state of Texas." In the same testimony, Vegas said that ERCOT will need every energy source to meet the state's projected energy growth. Using the "police power" of the state ignores what regulators and the market are saying: Texas needs every energy source to meet future demand. That includes renewables. The post Texas Lawmakers Want To Use 'Police Power' of the State To Halt Renewable Energy Projects appeared first on
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alphabet (GOOGL) Eyes Grid Optimization with AI Through PJM Partnership
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stands against other AI stocks you shouldn't overlook right now. According to Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the center-right think tank R Street Institute, Trump's tariffs could prove to be a massive gift for China, even helping it catch up in the AI race. 'It's going to be very hard for the U.S. to win the so-called AI Cold War if America's trade policies are simultaneously tanking global markets, discouraging technological investments, and potentially undermining traditional alliances with key allies.' Trump's policies are disrupting supply chains and causing volatility in global markets, which may lead US allies to turn to China to meet their technological needs. 'Suddenly, in the wake of this trade fiasco, we see EU officials saying, 'Let's get on the phone with China and talk. Huawei has this telecommunications hardware system they want to sell, and there's also these AI models that are free of charge.' READ ALSO: and . With all the tensions caused by the US tariffs, China's President Xi Jinping has recently called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains as he attended the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements between the two nations. While Beijing faces 145% U.S. duties, Vietnam has been negotiating a reduction of U.S. tariffs of 46% that would otherwise apply in July after a global moratorium expires, Reuters reported. 'The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,' Xi The President has also urged increased trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy. Discussing the meetings, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the two countries' discussions were focused on harming the United States. However, he said that he did not blame them for holding such talks. 'I don't blame China; I don't blame Vietnam. That's a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, 'how do we screw the United States of America?'' For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A user's hands typing a search query into a Google Search box, emphasizing the company's search Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company wholly owning the internet giant Google, amongst other businesses. On April 15, Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt adjusted the price target for the stock from $220 to $190 while maintaining an 'Outperform' rating. Several factors have led to the price target revision, such as macroeconomic uncertainties, potential tariff impacts, and declining consumer confidence. In other recent news, Reuters reported that Alphabet's Google has partnered with PJM Interconnection, the largest electrical grid operator in North America. This partnership aims to roll out artificial intelligence technologies that will help gain new power supplies connected faster. Overall, GOOGL ranks 3rd on our list of AI stocks you shouldn't overlook right now. While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to Begin U.S. Chip Production in TSMC's Arizona Plant for AI Expansion
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) stands against other AI stocks you shouldn't overlook right now. According to Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the center-right think tank R Street Institute, Trump's tariffs could prove to be a massive gift for China, even helping it catch up in the AI race. 'It's going to be very hard for the U.S. to win the so-called AI Cold War if America's trade policies are simultaneously tanking global markets, discouraging technological investments, and potentially undermining traditional alliances with key allies.' Trump's policies are disrupting supply chains and causing volatility in global markets, which may lead US allies to turn to China to meet their technological needs. 'Suddenly, in the wake of this trade fiasco, we see EU officials saying, 'Let's get on the phone with China and talk. Huawei has this telecommunications hardware system they want to sell, and there's also these AI models that are free of charge.' READ ALSO: and . With all the tensions caused by the US tariffs, China's President Xi Jinping has recently called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains as he attended the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements between the two nations. While Beijing faces 145% U.S. duties, Vietnam has been negotiating a reduction of U.S. tariffs of 46% that would otherwise apply in July after a global moratorium expires, Reuters reported. 'The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains,' Xi The President has also urged increased trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy. Discussing the meetings, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the two countries' discussions were focused on harming the United States. However, he said that he did not blame them for holding such talks. 'I don't blame China; I don't blame Vietnam. That's a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, 'how do we screw the United States of America?'' For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A close up of a complex looking PCB board with several intergrated semiconductor Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) develops and sells semiconductors, processors, and GPUs for data centers, gaming, AI, and embedded applications. On April 15, the company announced that its key processor chips would soon be made at TSMC's new production site in Arizona. This will mark the first time that its products will be manufactured in the United States. 'Our new fifth-generation EPYC is doing very well, so we're ready to start production.' Besides AMD, Apple and Nvidia have said that some of their chips are being produced at TSMC's Arizona plant. 'We want to have a very resilient supply chain, so Taiwan continues to be a very important part of that supply chain, but the United States is also going to be important and we're expanding our work there, including our work with TSMC and other key supply chain partners.' Overall, AMD ranks 8th on our list of AI stocks you shouldn't overlook right now. While we acknowledge the potential of AMD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
